A520.3.5.RB - Supportive Communication

Create a blog posting describing how you can integrate supportive communication in your present position, utilize the guidelines detailed on page 265 and describe the expected outcomes that may result from your efforts. Through speaking to people like you would someone you care for, it is far easier to recognize what they desire out of working for your organization, and working for you as well. I find it easy ti simply care, not to act like I care. For example, I like to start with business in my one-on-one meetings with supervisees, but end with conversation about their lives. I like to know how their day is going, how their family is, what the last show they watched was, and what they are doing for the weekend, which is why I schedule my one on one times for twice as long as they need to be. I don't want to rush.

Stephen Covey, educator, businessman, keynote speaker, and author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, wisely said, “With people, if you want to save time, don’t be efficient. Slow is fast and fast is slow.” We all had experiences of trying to save time with people, which were regretted in the long run. It may have been with a co-worker, a child or a spouse. We sometimes focus only on what we need to get done. We must evaluate at what cost, and with what result, things are achieved in cutting corners. This is how I show that I value the other person’s importance and uniqueness (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 265). When I think about what my personal mission statement is at work, it focuses on being the person who always has their door open, who can hold a conversation with anyone, and can learn and give advice to anyone. If I cannot give effective advice, I want to point them in the direction of someone who can! 

The impact this action has on my organization is that our customer sees us as more than one-time use resources. Through getting to know clients as people, following up on them to make sure the information I gave was effective, and offering to be a liaison for any issues or concerns they may have at the institution, my department keeps a positive reputation with our constituents. Another one of Covey's habits is to always think win-win. No one wins for long when someone feels like they received the short end of the stick (Covey, 1989)! He goes on to note that things should never be, my way or the highway - only the better way shall prevail. 

As financial guru Dave Ramsey notes in The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, “The enemy of “the best” is not “the worst.” The enemy of “the best” is “just fine” (Ramsey, 2009). I like to exercise Covey's habit of thinking for all by seeing problems from other people's points of view, identifying key issues and goals, and determining what the most effective solution will be for their situation.


References

Covey, Stephen. (1989).  7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Ramsey, D. (2009). The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. Nashville, TN 

 : Thomas Nelson.

Whetten, D. and Cameron, K. (2011). Developing management skills. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.